Environmental Innovation as a Part of Mineral Resources Accounting and Financial Reporting Development for Natural Capital Involvement in Management Decision-Making Process.

Abstract

Natural capital involvement in the management decision-making process of business entities by reforming current accounting and reporting methodology is an environmental innovation because it forces the organization's management to use such business methods that reduce the negative impact on the environment and ensure rational use of natural resources. An important part of natural capital is mineral resources, the data on which nowadays is not reflected in the accounting and reporting of organizations - subsoil users, what determines the relevance of the research topic. The purpose of this study is theoretical substantiation and recommendations for the development of mineral resources accounting methods and improving the accounting (financial) statements forms of organizations-subsoil users in the context of the natural capital concept. Among the methods used in the study, the authors identify synthesis, analysis, comparison, logical generalization, the conclusion by analogy, classification, grouping, etc. As part of accounting and reporting system development in terms of data formation about mineral resources used, the article investigates the economic essence of the concepts "minerals", "mineral reserves", "mineral resources", and "mineral raw materials", and proves their identity / non-identity. A three-dimensional classification has been developed in order to identify mineral resources from which economic benefits are expected. It has been proved that mineral resources can be an object of accounting since it is established that all criteria for recognition as an asset are fulfilled simultaneously in their relation. For accounting of natural capital use and organization's activities indicators connection, the article proposes a new dual model of accounting and reflection in accounting (financial) statements of mineral resources, which allows to present information on natural capital to interested users in two aspects: the cost of attracting mineral resources and economic potential of used mineral resources, which will eliminate the distortion of the information provided and provide information basis for relevant areas of analysis. Also, within the framework of the justified need for mineral resources accounting, the authors developed the recommendations for improving the content of accounting (financial) reporting forms of organizations - subsoil users, providing information about the organization's natural capital used and its depletion, which increases the information value of reporting, its forecast characteristics and takes on particular importance when making management decisions in the field of rational subsoil use.